ALL ABOUT THE MARTINS!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

KYRIE is starting to communicate!

What an angel!

Kyrie is starting to COO! She will make a 'communication sound' and wait for me to make one. Then, make another... she will do this for about 5 mintues.

She holding her head up all by herself now. And, she is quite alert. She prefers to be held ALL the time. So, I've been 'packing her' in the front pack I have. I've tried the two slings I have... and (ugh!) I must be 'sling challenged'. I just can't seem to position her correctly. And, there are several choices (but they charge SO MUCH for them!). My mom (the seamstress extrordinaire) is going to make me one... I'm really hoping that it is the 'answer'.

She loves BALLOONS! I tie them to her feet and she will kick them and watch how the move for quite a while. She watched them for about 30 minutes today.

BREONI is so SMART!

I feel that BREONI is exceptional! This is my disclaimer! Perhaps this is all really normal for a 2-year-old, but it seems pretty SMART and COORDINATED to me!

Breoni can correctly identify the following colors:
Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple, Pink, and Black (We are working on White!)

Breoni can identify the following letters when asked to find what the letter stands for or when seeing the letters will tell you what they stand for. Granted... for now... this is contingent upon using the alphabet letters and numbers we have in the bath tub:
B is for Breoni, Blanket and Binkie
K is for Kyrie (she says 'baby')
D is for Daddy and Doggie
M is for Mommy
H is for Hoppy (her bunny that she LOVES!)
G is for Grandma and Grandpa too!
T is for Tyron, Tasha and Tara
P is for Pablo
N is for Nap and Night-Night
L is Linda and LynnAnne (Aunts)
R is for Rebecca (Aunt)
S is for Sierra (Cousin)
E is for Egg and Elephant
I is for icie (otter pops which she is addicted to, looking for a more healthy alternative.... let me know if you have any suggestions here!)
2 is for 'how old are you?"
And.... we are working on: (which means she only sometimes can do these without help!)
C is for Cat
J is for Joy and Jump
A is for Austin and Apple

Breoni can completely dress herself (with just a little help) after getting her diaper on (sometimes a pull-up). Including socks and shoes! Tonight she picked out her own jammies and wanted to wear socks (a new thing). She picked out purple jammies first, but then wanted yellow socks. She compared them to her jammies (and must have decided they didn't match) and put the purple jammies away and got out her pink and yellow jammies.

Breoni has over 500 words in her vocabulary.
Breoni knows about 30+ peoples names.
Breoni can operate the portable DVD player.... ALL BY HERSELF! (Not sure that this is a really good thing...all that time on the road in Washington!)

Breoni can climb her ROCK WALL all by herself. On the playgrounds, she can navigate all the different play items. Sometimes other mothers (and some dads) give me that "Are you SERIOUSLY going to let your child do that?" look. I've heard more than one mother make comments like... "Did you see that little girl?" or "How old do you think she is?" and some are even bold enough to come talk to me about her!

Breoni is a STAR child at gymnastics. She has flirted her way into the hearts of all the teachers (including ones who have never taught her class!). Chan (the owner) tells us all the time how 'developmentally advanced' Breoni is. She is very strong physically. She can already do a 'chin up' all by herself.

Joy McMullin (special education teacher, family we stayed with on Vashon Island) said to me: "It is just as hard to have an advanced child sometimes as it is to have a delayed clild" after watching me offer Breoni a Jolley Rancher (which was blue) and having her say: "Yellow One!" (With that super cute nod of her head!) I've had more than one person tell me I'm in trouble when it comes to school... "she's going to be bored". She is already starting ahead at the child care center at school (where I work). She was right on the border for the cut off....so after a discussion with the director, she decided to put her in the class with the kids who are turning 3 during the year.

Breoni UNDERSTANDS that we can talk with grandma and grandpa on the 'computer' and it is really a 'picture'.

Breoni can carry on a conversation of about 6 interchanges on the phone with Grandma!

Breoni throws away ALL (I'm not kidding!) her garbage (and when we are out) picks up litter!

And, perhaps the best of all.... BREONI loves... she truly LOVES people! It is amazing to watch her interact with people of all ages. She shares incredibly well. I am constantly amazed by how willing she is to adjust in groups of kids, how well she plays with kids her age and older, and also how well she does with adults and even the elderly (which we saw when Grandpa Boyd was in the Rehabilitation Center...it seemed like a Rest Home).

OKAY.... that's enough BRAGGING for one POST!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

It's time to LET THE SKINNEY OUT!

I've started a new 'get fit' program. I'm going to be 40 in November. YIKES! And, I really want to be able to have the energy and health necessary to be an 'approaching 60' mom who can keep up with her teenages (within reason!).

I am really dedicated to this. I decided (after a fair amount of looking around) that MD DIET OF UTAH would be the best for me. http://makemefeelbetter.net/ Check out their site if you are interested!

I realize that there are many factors to my current health situation, but one thing I know for sure... is that I have the best reasons in the world for making this happen... BREONI AND KYRIE.

I started on Tuesday, July 29. I won't publish what I weighed....but it is TOO MUCH! On Tuesday we had a class from a nutritionist. It was incredibly informative.

KEY POINTS:
Carbonation causes BELLY FAT! So, if you want to get rid of your 'gut' get rid of SODA! She used this example:
BEER BELLY... what do SODA and BEER have in common? CARBONATION!

HIGH FRUTOSE CORN SYRUP is not what you think it is... it is a CHEMICAL that companies add to their products to make them 'addictive'. Prior to this chemical being approved by the FDA their was no such thing as TYPE 2 DIABETES. HMMMM! BAD BAD STUFF!

If you want to loose weight (and maintain the loss permanently!) you must consume 75% proteins to 25% carbs!

The liver is responsible for removing toxins(all the chemicals in our food) and metabolizing fat. When your liver is stressed, it chooses toxins since those with kill you and excess fat will not. Healthy weight requires a healthy liver, a healthy liver requires vitamin B!

I'm currently pretty "jazzed" about all this. Hopefully, by the end of the year I will be to my goal weight and then... maybe, I'll put a BEFORE and AFTER photo up! I go to the clinic weekly to get vitamin B injections since oral vitamin B is not really that helpful since the acid in your stomach destroys it before it can be fully absorbed. I have also visited my family doctor who is supporting me in this and ordering the necessary blood tests (thyroid for now!).

I went in on Wednesday morning to meet personally with the nutritionist and a nurse practioner. They review you 'body' test which was taken your first day to tell you your percent body mass to body fat. Then, they show you what your body requires to loose weight and recommended exercise plans. The nurse helps decide on what diet medications will help you get started.

Until I go back on Wednesday, I am eating in a way that will "FLIP" my metabolism, which generally teaches your body that you are going to take care of it. I was unaware that not only is BREAKFAST the most important meal of the day, but what you EAT as breakfast is also very important... START THE DAY WITH PROTEIN!

Jerry decided to 'cold turkey' his COKE drinking. He is going through a serious 'withdrawl'. Now, if that doesn't tell you something about COKE... also BAD BAD STUFF!

I hope that I can maintain the excitement and dedication I have right now to the end of the loss period and through the two years of maintenance. They say if you keep the weight off for two years you likely have truly trained yourself so you won't gain the weight back! Just think... I could be in the best health of my life at 40!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Doctors! Doctors!

July 28th
What a day!

Breoni had her 2 YEAR OLD appointment today. We had a couple things to discuss with the doctor. Breoni has had some difficulty breathing multiple time during her two years. She had a pretty bad attack while on the cruise (which I will talk about when I finally get to the cruise post!) and she really hasn't been total at ease breathing since. She also developed a cold on Saturday, which made it even worse. So, I needed to talk with the doctor about the medical histories of Kristi and Breoni's biological father, who had lots of allergies and asthma which was induced by milk. We were at the doctor for quite some time! Breoni is now 33.75 inches and 24.8 pounds.... which puts her at 50% on the height chart and 20% on the weight chart. She is incredibly strong! And, so very smart!!! We left the office with a perscription for amoxocillin for a minor ear infection and two perscriptions for inhalers. And, we have to return on the 13th of August. Then, I had an eye doctor appointment... I just can't seem to find a pair of contacts that work. Apparently, I have very soft corneas. My eye perscription was totally different than it was a few weeks ago. The doctor says... LASIK wouldn't work for me... so I guess I'll just have to settle for not quite right on the contacts or wearing glasses more often!

When we got home, I gave Breoni her 'medications'.... she sat so willingly with the spacer (a mask with a tube on the end which helps kids use the inhalers). It brought tears to my eyes. She is such an amazingly cool kid. I love her so much!!!! We are really hoping (and praying) that she is just going to be suseptible when she has a cold to the asthma. We couldn't really pin down any allergies. But, milk might be one... since I'm still using a formula for her. Enfamil makes a formula called 'NEXT STEP' for toddlers. I just felt it would be a lot healthier for her because of all the vitamins and minerals it has. She loves yogurt and cheese, which the doctor says wouldn't really effect the milk allergy. She only had milk in her cereal and icecream. We haven't noticed anything when she has cereal or icecream. But, on the cruise.... she was eating LOTS of icecream so maybe that could be something. I'm also going to ask the doctor if we could test her vitamin B levels. UGH! I get a bit nervous when I think about her potentially having asthma, but "they" say that it is really managable these days and should impact her activities.

She didn't use the spacer(mask) as willingly for the rest of the day... nothing like having to pin your child down and shove a mask and their face and pump an inhaler! She recovered from the trauma pretty quickly!

Kyrie is doing wonderfully!!!! Sweet, Sweet baby! We have gotten her fussiness down in the evenings. Mylicon for the gas, Prevacid for the reflux (which Breoni grew out of so we are hoping for the same with Kyrie!) and Gentlease formula by Enfamil! She is what we are calling an 'altitude baby'. A friend (can't remember who) used this term with me. It means, "I'm not really happy unless you are holding me and you MUST be standing up!". I've pulled out the 'slings' but just don't like the way the fit. I have a front pack... that works great, until you get her to sleep and you have no way of getting her out smoothly. So, I'm looking for something in this area... suggestions VERY welcome!

Inspite of how it may sound.... I LOVE BEING A MOTHER! I love both of my precious girls so incredibly much. I am so grateful and blessed to have their sweet, sweet spirits in my home!